The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 97

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 97
#97.
I started the opening series with a complete game shutout.
Naturally, not only the players but the Front Office erupted in cheers of joy.
And standing at the center of it all, I smiled and watched everyone celebrate.
“Well done.”
The Manager came to me personally and patted my shoulder.
And while everyone was celebrating, a Front Office employee who had been on a call alone suddenly shouted.
“The Chairman has ordered us to have a team dinner tomorrow and sent down a bonus!”
Silence fell in an instant.
And when we saw the face of the person who had shouted, everyone cried out loudly.
“Long live the Team Owner!”
“Long live the Team Owner’s Granddaughter!”
The Team Owner, who had watched the game comfortably from home, had sent down the bonus saying he enjoyed watching until the end of the game.
It’s true that meat you buy yourself tastes good, but the flavor of meat that someone else buys for you with an unlimited budget is a world apart.
Of course, we were delighted and happy.
“Wait!”
But there was one person who wasn’t celebrating—our Manager Bong Jun-sik.
“The team dinner is great. But what matters is tomorrow.”
At those words, the players and Front Office stopped celebrating.
“We need to win decisively tomorrow too, or the Team Owner won’t be happy either. Eating after a win and eating after a loss are completely different. Win tomorrow and then eat. It’ll taste even better.”
“Yes!!!!”
The excitement from the Manager’s words was brief, and in an instant, our fighting spirit ignited.
And the three Foreign Pitchers, the only ones who didn’t understand Korean, came to find me and asked.
“What’s going on?”
“Is there something to celebrate?”
“Is there a festival nearby?”
To the curious Foreign Pitchers, I brought up the story of the bonus, and Kevin, who was scheduled to start tomorrow, instantly changed his expression and ignited his determination.
“I need to repay the debt.”
Kevin burned with motivation.
Having stayed in Korea for another year, he had received considerable support from the organization. Even though he arrived late, they didn’t rush him, and they took care to ensure his comfort while also looking after his family’s safety and education.
Of course, knowing that all of this was the Team Owner’s consideration, he wanted to live up to those expectations.
“Bro. Let me organize what I experienced today and pass it on tomorrow.”
“You’re the best, bro.”
Kevin moved first to adjust his condition.
The remaining players also headed to their homes or lodgings early for tomorrow’s game.
This is why games in Changwon are convenient.
I too lay down on my bed, savoring the satisfaction of today’s game.
A complete game shutout in my first game.
And after leaving a message of gratitude to Ga Jin-heo for making this possible, I closed my eyes peacefully.
I was simply delighted that I now had something to talk about when I went to see my Daughter.
* * *
The next day.
Following the Team Owner’s generous bonus announcement, the Dolphins truly decorated their opening two-game series with victories.
Kevin took the mound as the starting pitcher.
Kevin, who threw a four-seam fastball, splitter, and changeup, was quite aggressive with his pitching, aiming for strikeouts.
Naturally, the Griffins countered that aggressive pitching and tried to exploit Kevin, and their efforts bore fruit in the form of getting on base, achieving their primary objective.
However, with consecutive hits failing to materialize and Kevin throwing changeups aggressively in critical situations, ground balls resulted in double plays to close out the inning.
Kevin’s performance lasted through the fifth inning.
His late arrival with the team meant his conditioning was built up gradually. Even in exhibition games, rather than pitching many innings, he took the mound frequently in short stints for evaluation purposes.
This time too, he took the mound aiming for five innings, and he achieved that goal.
Five innings, one run allowed, eighty-five pitches thrown. Seven strikeouts. Five hits allowed. Two walks.
Despite allowing quite a few hits, he came down from the Mound with the impressive stat of just one run allowed.
Meanwhile, the Batters proved they wanted to destroy the Team Owner’s card by pounding the opposing pitcher from the start, pulling out a comfortable four runs.
With a three-run lead, the Dolphins unhesitatingly brought out the Clutch Team.
Kim Jin-ho took the mound first.
As a left-handed sidearm pitcher occupying an already unique position, he threw his signature snake fastball and was the type to suppress batters with sheer velocity.
In truth, in a world with many right-handed batters, a left-handed sidearm pitcher doesn’t have much appeal.
But Kim Jin-ho only came up in important moments, exploiting that weakness and unleashing his snake.
“Swing, batter out!”
Against the Griffins’ cleanup and fifth-spot power hitters, he recorded two outs and came down from the Mound, refreshingly wiping away his sweat.
Starting from the next at-bat through the seventh inning, Jo Sang-hyuk took the mound and threw knuckle curves in succession, and the batters couldn’t follow the trajectory that deviated from the path of the home plate sweep, recording four outs.
In the eighth inning, Jung Ji-hoon took the mound.
He, whose slider was his money pitch, unfortunately allowed consecutive hits.
It seemed the batters had grown familiar with Kang Ho-jin’s slider from yesterday, and even though the pitcher changed from left-handed to right-handed, they hit well.
He allowed one run and four hits in one inning, barely closing it out.
Ninth inning, two-run lead.
In a slightly tight situation, Choi Sung-hyuk took the mound for the save.
And on the first pitch, he proved why he belonged in the closer role.
– 158 km/h.
The velocity, which had hovered between 154-156 until last year, had increased.
Unlike before, he threw with faster velocity and a heavy four-seam fastball as the foundation, and thanks to that, the changeup’s effectiveness increased further as he recorded three consecutive strikeouts and extended the winning streak.
“Team dinner!”
The Dolphins players quickly showered and boarded the bus, arriving in Busan.
At a meat restaurant that a Front Office staff member had arranged in advance, the team dinner began, and naturally, both players and Front Office staff alike devoured meat ravenously at the table.
The meat disappeared faster than the Restaurant Owner could bring it out, and remarkably, not a single person at the gathering touched alcohol.
Without anyone telling them to, they naturally drank carbonated beverages or water instead of alcohol, and at the end, the Captain Lee Ki-ha shouted.
“To the Dolphins this year!”
“Cheers!”
A good atmosphere was created from the opening two-game series, and the Dolphins players’ momentum soared.
The Dolphins’ next game was an away series heading to Seoul.
Busan Dolphins vs Seoul Buffaloes.
A three-game series was scheduled for the middle of the week.
* * *
Monday morning.
The team dinner had stretched late into the night, and the Manager said today would be voluntary training.
When I woke up late in the morning, the Dormitory was quiet.
It seemed everyone had skipped alcohol yesterday and only eaten meat, so they’d headed out to training looking perfectly fine.
I’d set an alarm before falling asleep, but since I didn’t hear it, I must have been quite exhausted.
‘Well, I did pitch a complete game in the opening match.’
It would be a lie to say there was no pressure.
I mean, if I’d been rolling around in baseball for fifty years, maybe not—but I do feel nervous. Still, thanks to my experience before returning to the past, I’m less tense than most.
Anyway, yesterday’s dinner was fun.
I’d stuffed myself with meat to recover my stamina, and thinking of how the other seniors and juniors were excited eating as well made it even better.
It was a team dinner with Front Office staff for the first time in a while, so it was nice to see everyone smiling.
Since I was the one who created this atmosphere, it felt even better.
Anyway, as I hurried toward the Baseball Stadium, I was stopped at the entrance.
“What’s this? Hey~ go on ahead.”
I could see the Captain gesturing toward me.
I wondered why, and then the Manager called me.
– Go to Seoul first and rest. Join the team on Tuesday.
Only then did I realize it was the Manager’s consideration.
A Front Office staff member approached with the KTX ticket ready and offered to drive me to the Train Station.
When I mentioned I needed to pack my away gear, they said Hyun Myung-su and the Granddaughter—no, Shin Se-a from the office would handle it, so I reluctantly nodded.
Thanks to that, I was able to visit my Daughter’s Hospital with my first complete game ball of the season.
“Ye-jin. Dad’s here.”
In the past, I would have cried first, but it seems I’ve grown a little stronger now.
Rather than tears, I showed her the ball I’d brought and let her hold it in her hand, and seeing her open her mouth, it’s clear I’ve changed.
– Points are being consumed.
I invested the 1 point I’d earned from winning the opening game into my Daughter’s treatment.
I still have plenty of points, but I’ve reserved all of it as preparation for this season.
I’m planning to run for 30 points this year, and now I’ve used 1.
Combined with the National Team games, by the end of this year I should be able to raise the recovery rate to nearly half, reaching 45-50%.
Well, that’s something to think about later. For now, I quietly brought up the story of my first complete game to my Daughter.
My Daughter sleeping peacefully.
I told her about that day, even though I could see no response or reaction from her.
Just hoping she’d see me performing well in her dreams and be happy.
Today too, I simply tell her stories.
* * *
For the first time in a while, I headed home at an early hour.
Father hadn’t returned from work yet, and Mother had stepped out to run errands.
Alone at home, I sat on the edge of my bed when something suddenly came to mind.
It was the memory of when Ye-ji had mentioned where she wanted to go for our honeymoon destination.
“It has to be somewhere…”
For the first time in ages, I opened the box where I kept my memories with Ye-ji.
It was a box where I’d gathered everything—from the letters she’d given me to her gifts—holding all the precious moments from our high school days intact.
I pulled out each letter she’d written to me and read them one by one.
I read through them carefully, one after another, searching for the place Ye-ji had said she wanted to visit, but after reading through about fifty letters, I found myself hurling the box away without thinking.
Thud! Crash!
The scattered box and letters falling everywhere.
Though the room was now filled with envelopes and letter pages floating through the air, instead of cleaning them up, I wrapped my arms around my knees and retreated into the corner.
“Hah…”
It should be a place I know, something I could remember if I just thought hard enough, yet it escapes me.
Beyond anger, frustration surged through me, and among the traces of Ye-ji scattered across the room, something caught my eye.
A glimmer.
It was the couple’s ring we’d matched together, something I’d forgotten about for quite some time.
I picked it up and tried to slip it onto my finger, but realizing it didn’t fit, I fashioned it into a necklace using a string.
Holding it tightly in my hand, I lay back on the bed and called out softly.
“Han Ye-ji…”
If you can hear my voice, please answer me.
No matter where on this earth you are, I will find you.
For our daughter’s sake.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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